Best Holiday Recipes - Spa Index Guide to Spas

Reader Favorite Holiday Recipes — Light and Healthy Spa Cuisine

Browse our reader and staff favorite holiday recipes — all perfect for special meals. Light, Healthy, Clean and Crisp Spa Cuisine Meals let you celebrate and keep your goals for clean eating.

Holiday Cocktails, Mocktails, and Spa Party Drinks

We’ve gathered our collection of these spa party and holiday beverages which may be the perfect refreshment to toast your celebrations, holiday meals, spa parties or just a gathering of friends and loved ones.

Healthy Hoppin’ John Recipe

Eating a bowl of Hoppin’ John on New Year’s Day is a folksy tradition to help assure a prosperous year filled with luck. Skyterra Wellness Retreat offers this healthy version, rich with nutrients.

Dairy Free Mexican Hot Chocolate – Skyterra Recipe

This hot and comforting beverage is free of dairy, eggs, and gluten, while still providing robust flavor

Dairy Free Eggnog – Skyterra Recipe

This eggnog is free of dairy, eggs, and gluten, while still providing a source of holiday comfort and flavor.

Thai Candied Pumpkin Seeds – Hilton Head Health

Pumpkin Seeds with a sweet, spicy and salty glaze, baked crunchy, make an addictive treat, a nice topping to frozen yogurt, and an outstanding salad topper.

Pritikin Maple Butterscotch Pudding

Creamy, smooth, delicious, and low fat! Try Pritikin’s guest-favorite recipe for Maple Butterscotch Pudding

Apple Walnut Cranberry Coleslaw

This salad is cool, crunchy, sweet and savory, our favorite salad profile, and under 150 Calories per serving.

Almond Pulp Date Macaroons

If you routinely make almond milk, you’ll want to save the pulp to make these tasty Almond Pulp Date Macaroons

Gluten Free Vegan Maple Butter Tarts

These Gluten-Free Vegan Maple “Butter” Tarts are a guest favorite at the Sugar Ridge Retreat Center, a yoga retreat in Ontario, Canada.

Turkey Cutlets in Grainy Mustard Sauce

This French-style entree is served to guests of the Golden Door Spa. The cutlets are topped with grainy mustard, herbs and vegetables.

Jack Daniels Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes – Hilton Head Health

Chocolate, Cream Cheese and Jack Daniels are given a makeover for this classic American “Black Bottom Cupcake” dessert

Autumn Squash and Lentil Salad – Hilton Head Health

This delicious salad has Acorn Squash, Tart Apples, Curried Lentils, Chopped Pecans, and more. A holiday salad or entree from Hilton Head Health Retreat.

Grapefruit Blueberry Mojito – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

In this recipe for Grapefruit Blueberry Mojito Mocktails, fruit, mint, lime juice and honey are blended with club soda.

Spa Party Mint Orange Blossom Iced Tea

This caffeine free Mint Orange Blossom Iced Tea recipe is a terrific recipe to serve at your Spa Parties, Receptions and Celebration Showers.

Cranberry Orange Cardamom Infused Spa Water

There are many known health benefits of infused water, including appetite control, weight control, blood sugar management, hydration, and immune support and defense. You’ll soon find that having a pitcher of Cranberry Orange Cardamom Infused Spa Water sitting out on a lovely tray, will make an inviting refreshment station, and you’ll reach for a glass more often.

Pomegranate Pear Infused Spa Water

There are many known health benefits of infused water, including appetite control, weight control, blood sugar management, hydration, and immune support and defense. You’ll soon find that having a pitcher of Pomegranate Pear Infused Spa Water sitting out on a lovely tray, will make an inviting refreshment station, and you’ll reach for a glass more often.

Grapefruit Coriander Infused Spa Water

There are many known health benefits of infused water, including appetite control, weight control, blood sugar management, hydration, and immune support and defense. You’ll soon find that having a pitcher of Grapefruit and Coriander Infused Spa Water sitting out on a lovely tray, will make an inviting refreshment station, and you’ll reach for a glass more often.

Raspberry Lemon Infused Spa Water

There are many known health benefits of infused water, including appetite control, weight control, blood sugar management, hydration, and immune support and defense. You’ll soon find that having a pitcher of Raspberry Lemon Infused Spa Water sitting out on a lovely tray, will make an inviting refreshment station, and you’ll reach for a glass more often.

Blackberry Sage Infused Spa Water

There are many known health benefits of infused water, including appetite control, weight control, blood sugar management, hydration, and immune support and defense. You’ll soon find that having a pitcher of Blackberry Sage Infused Spa Water sitting out on a lovely tray, will make an inviting refreshment station, and you’ll reach for a glass more often.

Grape and Mint Infused Spa Water

There are many known health benefits of infused water, including appetite control, weight control, blood sugar management, hydration, and immune support and defense. You’ll soon find that having a pitcher of Grape and Mint Infused Spa Water sitting out on a lovely tray, will make an inviting refreshment station, and you’ll reach for a glass more often.

Canyon Ranch Eggnog – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

This delicious eggnog recipe was created by destination spa Canyon Ranch for its holiday guests. Treat your own guests this season with this healthy version of a holiday staple.

Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain

How can you navigate the holidays without piling on extra pounds? Tips from the founder of Green Mountain at Fox Run, a weight loss retreat for women.

5 Tips for Radiant Holiday Skin

Besides getting older and cold weather, too much holiday food and drink can wreak havoc on the skin. Here are five tips and product recommendations for a glowing complexion this holiday season.

Strawberry Thyme Fizz – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

This recipe is for a Strawberry Thyme Fizz Mocktail. It’s wonderfully sweet, herbal and festive.

Ginger Peach Pick Me Up – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

This recipe is for a Ginger Peach Pick Me Up. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, a little fizzy, and very simple.

Raspberry Rose Punch – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

This recipe is for Raspberry Rose Punch using fresh lemon, raspberry liqueur, and rose wine. It makes a refreshing lighter punch for receptions and cocktail parties.

Virgin Hurricanes – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

This recipe is for Virgin Hurricanes using tropical juices, sparkling water, and garnishes. Bump it up a bit with a wee bit of Rum for Fruity Cocktail.

Lemon Basil Mojito – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

This recipe is for a Lemon-Basil Mojito using fresh basil leaves, club soda, and lemon wedges.

Sparkling Lemon Cooler – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

This recipe is for a Sparkling Lemon Cooler using fresh lemon juice and some bubbling additions. You can easily convert this to your favorite citrus flavor by using orange juice, or grapefruit, or lime juice, too.

Sparkling Peach Bellinis – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

This recipe is for Sparkling Peach Bellinis using roasted peach halves (which can be fresh, or thawed from frozen).

Zesty Citrus Punch – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

This recipe for Zesty Citrus Punch combines four different kinds of citrus juice with bubbly ginger-ale and couldn’t be easier. To make it a little spicier — add fresh ginger juice, too!

Bleu Cheese and Cherry Stuffed Endive – Skyterra Recipe

Skip ordinary cheese and crackers and use crisp, leafy endives for a plant-based pre-meal platter instead. This delicious appetizer is courtesy of Skyterra Wellness Retreat.

Ginger Grapefruit Fizz – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

This recipe for a Ginger Grapefruit Fizz is a little sweet, a little tart, a little spicy, a little fizzy, and looks just like a celebration in a glass.

Blackberry Shrub – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

This recipe is for a Blackberry Shrub. Making shrubs is a creative way to use up extra fruit — and this type of cocktail usually includes fruit juice, sugar, and other acidic ingredients — usually sweetened vinegar! Sound odd? Think of it as a sweeter, tastier, and drinkable marinade!

Thai Braised Brussels Sprouts – Hilton Head Health

One of the guest favorite recipes served at Hilton Head Health is this side dish of Thai Braised Brussels Sprouts. This side dish is packed with tantalizing Thai flavors; creamy coconut and zesty curry.

Lighten Up the Holiday Cookie Swap

Lighten Up the Holiday Cookie Swap! We’ve got a batch of recipes for lighter cookies and treats perfect for holiday gift giving or setting a lighter holiday table.

Low Fat – Low Sugar – Pumpkin Apple Cider Cake

Pumpkin Apple Cider Cake is a light, tasty and easy cake to bake up for your Autumnal brunch. It starts with a low-fat pumpkin cake and is topped with a low-sugar broiled topping. Wonderful for breakfast, dessert, or a sweet afternoon snack.

Pritikin Low Calorie Baked Crab Cakes Recipe

Baked Crab Cakes a la Pritikin are a delectable combination of crab, veggies, garlic, egg whites, and salt-free Old Bay Seasoning — and only 50 calories for the appetizer sized cakes. Delicious and healthy!

Reduced Fat Twice Baked Potatoes

A reduced fat creamy and cheesy stuffed potato side dish, great with your dinner, soup or salad

Sauteed Peaches and Pumpkin Seeds

Try these Sauteed Peaches with Pumpkin Seeds as a side dish for seafood or poultry, or, serve atop your favorite greens for a Warm Fruit and Greens Salad.

Fall Sparkler Mocktail – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

Combine sparkling cranberry juice, ginger beer, apple cider, and orange slices to make this easy and Fall Sparkler, perfect for a holiday or spa party.

Spicy Strawberry Mule – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

Combine fresh strawberries, ginger beer, limes and club soda to make this easy and Spicy Strawberry Mule, perfect for a summer barbecue, holiday or spa party.

Mango Lime Tini – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

Combine your frozen mango chunks, spicy limeade, and orange juice to make this easy and spicy Mango Lime Mocktail, perfect for a summer barbecue, holiday or spa party. Thank you to Trader Joe’s for the recipe.

Gingerosa Mocktail – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

Combine your favorite ginger beer and orange juice to make this easy and spicy mocktail, perfect for a holiday or spa party.

Pritikin Edamame Broccoli Dip – 45 Calories

This colorful Edamame Broccoli Dip is excellent with vegetable sticks, such as carrots, celery, and jicama, or with low-sodium, baked chips. 45 calories per serving.

Skyterra Pumpkin Trifle

A light and delicious Pumpkin Trifle dessert with that well-loved pie flavor. Spiced pumpkin puree tastes divine layered with coconut whipped cream and topped with candied pecans.

Red Mountain Spa Pumpkin Mousse

Did you know that the majority of fat and calories in a slice of pumpkin pie actually comes from the crust? If this holiday treat is one of your favorites, cut the calorie count down a few notches by whipping up this flavorful, velvety, light and airy Pumpkin Mousse.

Biggest Loser Pumpkin Creme Brulee

This healthy and delicious holiday Pumpkin Crème Brulee recipe is courtesy of Executive Chef Cameron Payne of Biggest Loser Resort.

Ginger Basil Limeade

If the heat gets you beat, try this enlivening Ginger Basil Limeade chilled to feel light and bright. Refreshing sour lime mixes with spicy-sweet fresh ginger. Fresh basil cuts through with its light, bright pungent herbal taste. This limeade will clear your mind, stimulate digestion, take care of a gassy stomach and even cool you down.

Spa Orange Almond Brown Rice Pilaf

Serve this savory side dish of brown rice pilaf with your favorite fish, poultry or pork, or use it as a stuffing.

Healthy Chef Skinny Dips

The Healthy Chef, Teresa Cutter, one of Australia’s leading authorities on healthy cooking, has some great Skinny Dips for spa parties and holiday meals.

Pritikin Citrus Marinated Turkey Breast

This Pritikin Citrus Marinated Turkey Breast recipe sings with brand new flavors! Fresh pineapple, fresh oranges, fresh rosemary, balsamic vinegar, molasses… all combined to make a stellar entree.

Pritikin Savory Sage Dressing

Who needs traditional stuffing packed with artery busters like sausage and butter when you can enjoy all the savory richness and warmth of healthy Pritikin Savory Sage Dressing?

Corn and Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes With Corn and Fat-Free Sour Cream, perfect for holiday meals or just nights when you’re craving a little comfort food but want to be good to your heart and waistline.

Fat Free Sugar Free Cornbread

This recipe for lighter cornbread is veggie rich, but free of oil, sugar, and cholesterol (what you’d find in many cornbread recipes), and still offers that classic, delicious cornbread flavor.

Mashed Potatoes & Turnips with Caramelized Onions

This simple comfort food recipe for Mashed Potatoes and Turnips with Caramelized Onions is filled with complex carbohydrates and many nutrients. Why mess up your arteries with all the butter and cream of regular mashed potatoes when you can enjoy the rich piquant flavors of this recipe?

Pritikin Seafood Ceviche

This is a perfect Cinco de Mayo recipe — when it’s customary to serve your favorite Latin American dishes.

Fat Free Pumpkin Spice Cake

Here is a fat free pumpkin spice cake recipe to round out your holiday dessert table. This recipe requires no frosting (just a dusting of sugar will do) and it travels well, so take it to work parties, family dinners and holiday events.

Pritikin Roasted Pumpkin Wedges

This healthy recipe for Pritikin Pumpkin Wedges is vegetable-rich, only takes 3 ingredients, and can be a tasty vegetable and dessert, all in one. Plus, pumpkins are a bonafide super-food, so it’s a triple duty recipe — easy, delicious and nutritious.

Pumpkin Cranberry Quick Bread Recipe

We find most of the pumpkin offerings at our local chain coffee stop or warehouse stores to be dry, artificial tasting, loaded with sugar, and generally abysmal. We want a moister, more flavorful version, enhancing the flavor of SuperFood pumpkin and healthful cranberries — and this fits the bill.

Helpful Hints to Prevent Overindulging this Holiday Season

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas — the holidays where we tend to snack on candy, toast with cocktails and punch and eat bountiful snacks and meals is upon us. Temptations will be plentiful this time of year: dinner parties, goodie trays, bountiful buffets—how...

Cal a Vie Bloody Mary Gazpacho

Bloody Mary Gazpacho is zesty enough to waken the tongue, without the alcohol of the popular breakfast cocktail.

Harvest Quinoa Pilaf

This recipe is a tasty side dish with fruit, grains and arugula and topped with pumpkin seeds

Roasted Pears and Raisins

Roasted Pears and Raisins with Star Anise makes for a delicious dessert. It satisfies your sweet tooth while offering a departure from refined sugars.

Vegetarian Collard Greens

It wouldn’t be a southern table without delicious collard greens on the side. Try this healthy vegetarian version for Thanksgiving this year.

Three Sisters Succotash

Corn, beans and squash are the principal foods of many Native American tribes. They’re called “the three sisters” because they support one another as they grow. The corn grows tall, allowing the bean vine to twine around her stalk. The bean fixes the nitrogen in the soil, and the squash has big leaves that hold in moisture.

Gorgonzola Turkey Apple Endive Salad

Toss this salad with some greens for a holiday salad or add some turkey from Thanksgiving for a scrumptious lunch or dinner.

Low Fat Corn Custard

This colorful creamy casserole pairs nicely with many of our Mexican spa cuisine dishes. Serve with black beans and our spa Southern Style Greens for a striking combination of colors and flavors. Great for the holiday table, too.

Vermont Maple Sweet Potatoes

Vermont Maple Sweet Potatoes spotlight wonderful ingredients from Vermont, but can easily be made wherever you are from, as well!

Ginger Elixir Ayurvedic Cocktail

La Costa Resort and Spa in California recommends serving this Ginger Elixir, a non-alcoholic “Ayurvedic cocktail”, before a meal.

Jet Fuel 5 Calorie Salad Dressing

Canyon Ranch Spa guests have enjoyed Jet Fuel 5 Calorie Salad Dressing for more than 20 years. It can be customized in dozens of ways, too.

Pomegranate Ginger Elixir

Pomegranates are a new superfood: They are high in vitamin C and potassium, a great source of fiber, and low in calories. Take advantage of a SuperFood with this lively elixir, perfect for breakfast or in place of a cocktail at parties.

Detox Cinnamon Apple Cider – Dr. Haas

One of our favorite Autumn detox recipes from our good friend Dr. Elson Haas, America’s Detox Doc.

Watermelon Lemonade – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

This light and refreshing quencher is perfect for warm summer afternoons by the pool or in the garden, or after a long walk and a jog.

Sangria Soleil – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

A recipe for bright and flavorful Sangria Soleil by Golden Door Spa. Serve at your holiday parties, summer picnics, or receptions.

Strawberry Daiquiri – Cocktails, Mocktails and Spa Party Drinks

This beautiful and refreshing drink is a perfect substitute for a fancy alcoholic beverage at cocktail parties. For a tarter version, we like it with lime juice in place of the lemon juice.

Not Your Everyday Turkey Sandwich with Cranberry Relish

This recipe for a wonderful sandwich will make use of the copious amounts of turkey you’re certain to have on hand this month. While not a typical recipe for “spa cuisine”, we’ve lightened this recipe. The end result is a a sandwich bursting with flavor, interesting textures, and makes the most of its calories.

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